6 Company Christmas Party Games to Die For

Add any of these company Christmas party games to your event – and you’ll be doing your workmates will love you (like this guy).

Because for the most part, work people tend to dread the annual Christmas party.

These events can work for individual teams who know each other.

But go outside of that, and invite other departments – and the dread starts to kick in.

Which is why you need these party games. No party will survive without them.

As well as breaking the ice, games also level the playing field. Everyone – from the boss to the manager to the PA – all get to hang out, their job title is no barrier.

Let’s get you started.

Two Spoons

Break everyone into two equal teams, and create a finish line at the opposite end of the room by stringing up some tape.

• Give the first player of each team a spoon, with a bauble balanced on it

• On ‘Go’, both players must run to the finish line, then back to their team, without dropping the bauble

• The spoon/bauble is then passed to their teammate, who takes their turn

• The first team to finish the race – without dropping their bauble – wins.

Any player who does drop their bauble must return to the start line and start again.

To make it harder, you can replace the bauble with something else, e.g. a snowman made out of cake; or a scoop of red jello.

Christmas Carol Relay

Before playing, write out a list of 10-15 Christmas carol titles on a sheet of paper (which only you as game host will see). Split your players into even teams, giving each one a sketch pad and a marker pen.

• On ‘Go’, the first players of each team come to you and are shown the same Christmas carol title

• The players then return to their team and draw the name of the carol as a picture for their group to guess. They’re not allowed to speak

• As soon as the carol is guessed correctly, their next player comes to you for the next carol. And so on.

The first team to complete your carol list wins.

Shave the Balloon

This is probably the messiest of the company Christmas party games, so hand out bibs for anyone who needs one.

• Give everyone an inflatable balloon and a marker pen, and 2 minutes to draw a face on their balloon

• Next, apply shaving cream to the balloons and hand out plastic knives

• On ‘Go’, players must all attempt to shave their balloon – all without popping it

• The first person to succeed wins.

To make it extra Christmas-y, you can fill the balloon with confetti or glitter (or whipped cream, for a messier touch).

Dressing Up Santa

Looking for wacky company Christmas party games? With Dress Up Santa, you’ll need plenty of space to play this game – preferably a large meeting room, where there won’t be much furniture in the way.

• Break everyone into 2-3 equal teams, assigning each one to its own little work area in the room

• In each work area is a large cardboard box housing a Santa Claus outfit (costume, boots, hat, beard ‘n all)

• On ‘Go’, all the groups compete to be the first to dress up one of their team in the full Santa gear. Set the round for 3-5 minutes

To win, teams need to use up all the items in their box and produce the neatiest Santa.

This is a fun team-building game, where teammates at all levels of your workplace or department can bond.

Guess the Christmas Song

Add a musical touch to your company Christmas party games with this easy-to-assemble activity.

You’ll need to create a compilation of songs beforehand on your computer. Mix in festive hit songs with Christmas carols; choose both easy and obscure tunes, new and old, for an eclectic game.

• Start the game, by playing 5-10 seconds of the first track – and let people guess the song

• The person who thinks they know must raise their hand; if it’s correct, they’ll need to sing more of the song

• If they get the lyrics wrong during their singing, their round is passed to another player who can.

Bonus points can be awarded, if players can guess the name of the artist and year of release.

The Bowl of Fame

This is a guessing game, where pairs of players work together to guess as many celebrity names as quick as possible.

• Before you start the game, fill a large bowl with different pieces of paper, each one with the name of a different celebrity (go for 50-100 names)

• Divide everyone into pairs, designating one half as the Actor, the other as the Guesser

• The first pair now has 30 seconds to guess as many names as they can

• The Actor pulls a name from the bowl and gives their partner clues as to who the celebrity is, without naming them.

Once time’s up, switch pairs. The pair with the most correct guesses wins.